Weft-detecting mechanism



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Patented Sept. 23, 1924,

UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE K. NICHOLAS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON a KNOWLES LOOM WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WEET-DETECTING MECHANISM.

Application sled November 2o, 192e.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE K. NICHOLAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful VVeft-Detecting Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for detecting substantial exhaustion of the weft carrier in a loom shuttle, and more particularly to certain improvements in weft detecting mechanism ofthe type shown in the prior patent to Ryon, N o. 1,352,536 issued September 14, 1920; The detector therein shown requires careful and accurate adjustment in order to secure good results from the use thereof, and it has sometimes been found diflicult to secure close attention and accurate adjustment under actual working conditions.

It is the object of my invention to provide a detecting mechanism with which accurate results may be attained without the necessity of accurate adjustment thereof.

It is another object lof my invention to provide a detecting mechanism which is readily adapted to operate upon two different kinds of weft, one of which may be quite different in character from the other, and to the attainment 0f this object I provide an auxiliary detecting member which is preferably removable from the mechanism when the operator so desires. v

My invention further relates to arrange ments and combinations of partsj which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A preferred form of my invention is shown in the drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improved detecting mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view Vtaken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, of the movable detecting member; and

Figs, 5., 6, 7 and 8 are plan. views show- Seral No. 425,509.

ing the operation of the device under different conditions.

My improved detecting mechanism is particularly designed for use in connection with transfer indicating mechanism of the type shown in the prior patent to Ryon #972,7 72, dated October 11, 1910." In the present drawings, I have shown an actuator 10 movable vertically in a slot 11 formed in a projection 12 on a casting 13 xed to the loom frame. A shaft 1 4 is pivoted in fixed bearings 15 and 16 and is provided with arms 17 and 18 extending upwardly from the opposite ends of the shaft. A rod 19 is pivotally secured to the upper end of the arm 17 and slides in a recess in the casting 13, which recess extends transversely across the slot 11.

In operation, the end of the rod normally extends across the slot 11 in the path of the actuator 10, but is withdrawn from this position when the detecting members (to be described) are engaged by a weft carrier vhaving a sutlicient supply of weft thereon. If, however, the rod 19 is allowed to remain in normal position during the downward movement of the actuator 10, the actuator is thereby rendered effective to indicate weft exhaustion to the transfer mechanism.

A spring 2O is secured at one end to a collar on theshaft 14 and at the other end to the bearingl and acts to maintain the parts in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A stand 21 is pivoted at 22 to the casting 13 and is maintained in adjusted vertical position by a stop screw 23. A cap or cover 24 is secured to the stand 21 and forms therewith a guideway for a rectangular slide 25.

A detecting member 26 is fixed to the rear end of the box-like slide 25 and a movable detecting member 27 is pivoted at 28 therein. The pivot 28 is preferably provided with an eccentric bearing portion which may be secured in any desired angular position in the slide 25, thus providing for adjustment of the detecting member 27 relative to the member 26 which is fixed to the slide.

A rod 29 is slidably mounted in the slide and at its front or left hand end it is engaged by the arm 18 on the shaft 14. The rear or right hand of the rod 29 engages the front side of an arm 30 projecting from the movable detecting member 27. A relatively heavy coil spring 81 is mounted on a stop rod 32 threaded in the cover or cap 24 said rod having ka shoulder thereon positioned to .engage a bracket 33 secured to the slidey25. The spring 31 normally forces the slide rearward until the bracket 33 engages the shoulder of the step rod 32. The eXtreme rearward position of the slide may be adjusted by turning the rod in its threaded bearing in the cover 24.

A rod 34 is also movably mounted in the slide 25 and is provided at its rear end with a hook 35 engaging the rear face of the projecting arm 30. The front end of the rod 34 is enlarged to receive a stop screw 36 which engages the front end of the stand 21 and thus limits rearward movement of Y the rod '34. It may be noted that a projection 37 on the side of the rod 34 forms the rear bearing for the rod 29.

The spring 20 acts through the arm 18 and the rod 29 to yieldingly maintain the arm 30 of the movable detector against the hook 35 of the rod 34 and thus also maintains the stop screw 36 against the front end of the stand 21. If the slide 25 is moved forward, the spring 2.0 tends to swing the movable detector 27 to the position shown in Fig. 8. l

All of the parts thus far described are substantially the same as those shown in the Ryon Patent, #1,352,536 and in themselves form no part of my present invention, which consists in providing an additional or auxiliary movable detect-ing member in the form of va plunger 40 (Fig. 4) slidable in 'bearings inthe movable detecting member 27 and held yieldingly in rearward posit-ion by a light coil spring 41. One bearing of the plunger 40 in the toothed end 27 a of the member 27 and the other bearing preferably comprises an enlarged opening 42 in the body or 'i1-ub of the member 27, formed at a slight angle to the axis of the plunger and Within which the plunger is loosely fitted. With this: construction, the plunger 40 may be easily removed by puslnng it into the opening 42 and thereafter swinging the outer end so that it will clear the toothed end 27 a of the detector 27. The teeth of the member 27 are commonly set somewhat in advance of the end of the member 26, and the end of the plunger 40 commonly extends to the vrear thereof. y

Having described the construction of my improved detector mechanism, I will now describe its operation. The parts are shown in their normal position in Fig. 7, with the stop screw 36 engaging the stand 21 and the slide 25 forced rearwardly until the arm 30 of the movable detector is engaged by the hook 35 and the toothed end 27 of the detector 27 is moved into engagement with the fixed detecting member 2G. If now the detector is engaged by a full weft carrier, as indicated in Fig. 5, the parts will be moved directly forward to Withdraw the rod 19 from the path of the actuator 10. Under these conditions, the end of the mel'nber 36 enters the weft and the teeth on the lnmlmr 27 engage the weft and prevent swinging movement of said member.

When the weft on the weft carrier is substantially reduced so that the fixed detector 26 engages the barrel of the bobbin, the teeth of the member 27 no longer engage the weft and the member 27 would naturally move to the position shown in Fig. 8. The plunger 40, however, comes into action at this time and the point of the plunger engages the few remaining turns of weft on the weft carrier, still preventing swinging movement of the member 27.

Vhen, however, no weft remains on the detecting poltion of the weft carrier, the member 27 swings to the position shown in Fig. 8, leaving the rod 19 in normal position, and the actuator 10 then becomes eilective tn indicate weftexhaustion. It is here aumed that a small bunch or reserve supply of weft has been wound at the base of the weft carrier as indicated at l in Fig. 6.

It is sometimes necessary to use the same loom with fine weft or filling at one time and with relative-ly coarse or heavy filling at nnother time and it is not usually possible to run the coa-.rse filling until the barrel of the weft carrier is entirely uncovered. Under these conditions the plunger 20 is removed whenever coarse filling is used and is replaced for use with fine filling, thus readily adapting the detecting mechanism to different kinds of filling without` the necessity of careful adjustment.

Having thus described my invention, it will be evident that changes and modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the claims, and I do not w'islr to be otherwise limited to the details herein disclosed but what I claim is:

1. A weft detecting mechanism comprising a. slide, a detecting member fixed to said slide, a second detecting member pivotally mounted on said slide to move with said first detecting member and also relative thereto, and a third detecting member mounted for longitudinal yielding movement on said second detecting member.

2. A weft detecting mechanism comprising a slide, a detect-ing member fixed to said slide, a second detecting member mounted to move With seid slide and seid first member and also relative to said rst member, and a third detecting device yieldingly mounted on said second detector and normally projecting to the rear of said fixed deteoting member, seid yielding member bein removable from seid second member an Said second member and said fixed member being also effective to detect Substantial weft exhaustion after said yielding member is removed.

In testimony' whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

GEORGE K. NICHOLAS. 

